KEALAKEHE — Konawaena flag football got the best of the crosstown classic matchup against Kealakehe on Tuesday night at Waverider Stadium.
The Wildcats continued their outright dominant start to the 2026 season, beating the blue and white 40-0 to elevate to a perfect 6-0.
Kona hasn’t allowed a single touchdown this season, outscoring opponents 251-0.
“In the beginning of the game we were making some simple mistakes,” Wildcats coach Mason Pyper said postgame. “But then we fixed some things and executed how we wanted to in the second half.”
Kona started things off slower than usual in the opening minutes, but still managed to lead 13-0 at halftime thanks to a rushing touchdown from speedster Jazmin Fillmore and a touchdown catch in the right-hand corner of the endzone from Kylie Denis.
But by the third quarter, the Wildcats’ speed and athleticism began to wear Kealakehe down. Dasha Kala caught a touchdown reception off of a double pass, and Denis secured a long catch-and-run score for her second touchdown of the night. Denis scored her third and final touchdown in the fourth, while Kala caught her second score in the same period.
There were also a number of forced turnovers throughout the contest, with four interceptions thrown in the first half. Konawaena grabbed three of them — one of each from Ava Shoosmith, Briley Hao and Kayzia James. Taiana Castillo-Simmons caught a pick for Kealakehe.
The Wildcats split snaps at quarterback between Ki‘ilei Leleiwi and Vaihere Alani, who both made big plays with their arm talent.
At the midpoint of the 2026 season, Pyper is pleased with where the team currently stands, but acknowledged that there’s always room to level up as a group — especially with a good chunk of the regular season left.
“We’re starting to kick into the next gear,” he explained. “The standard here has always been the same, but we’ve been trying to light a little more fire underneath them to make sure we’re doing all of the right things.”
The Waveriders made some highlight plays, as quarterback Peyton Kahiamoe connected with receiver Hina‘ea Tan to move the chains. But the Wildcats’ impenetrable defense was too much for Kealakehe to overcome.
Now at 2-4 on the season, Waveriders head coach Gabe Valentin told the paper that the girls remained upbeat, and that the loss can serve as a lesson to look back on during the second half of the season.
“Konawaena’s always a tough opponent,” he said. “They have great coaching and playcalling. I noticed that our route running is definitely something that we need to clean up. Had we done those a little bit cleaner, we would have played better.
“But we win as a team, and we lose as a team. We don’t lose our composure, and the girls stick with the same mentality and attitude throughout the games. We understood that this was a hard game and we have things to fix, and we always get another chance. That’s the great thing about football.”
While Konawaena has looked near unbeatable over the first six games, the Wildcats have dealt with recent roadblocks that they’ve had to overcome. Due to the powerful Kona low storms from mid March, Konawaena’s campus suffered significant flooding — including around 70% of instructional spaces being damaged. Due to these circumstances, the school elected to transition to remote learning for the foreseeable future.
Konawaena’s spring sports have also endured changes, as the Wildcats’ programs are currently unable to practice at their home facilities. But luckily, Kealakehe was gracious enough to lend its practice facilities to a number of Wildcats teams, including flag football. Pyper and his team have since been practicing at Waverider Stadium, with their time slot right after Kealakehe finishes their daily practices.
Valentin initially reached out to Pyper and the Wildcats to offer the use of their facilities, and soon enough, the athletic offices from both schools came together to finalize things.
“It was a combination of just everyone wanting to help as much as we were possibly allowed to,” Valentin said. “We’re athletic rivals, but we’re here for so much more than that. (Kealakehe) is here to create the next generation of kids that are community leaders, and this is how we do it.
“We have to show the kids that it doesn’t matter where we come from or where we play, or where we go to church. We have this opportunity and we are blessed to give a helping hand. That’s how you build communities.”
The experience has been challenging and the Konawaena girls are still adapting, but Pyper sees it as an opportunity to come together even closer. After all, the Wildcats currently don’t see any of their schoolmates until practice later in the day — which brings a new value of team camaraderie with the limited time they have together.
“We’re trying to continue to push forward with the positive mindset and enjoy each other’s company,” Pyper said. “These girls don’t get to see each other in school, so I think there’s become a sense of closeness of, ‘hey, we’re going to practice, but we get to see each other and spend time together.’”
“I’m really appreciative of being in a very similar situation as them, where I have to teach online,” he continued. “It’s nice being able to connect with the girls through (this situation) and relate and support them. Because I think the biggest thing is that they need people by their side.”
Pyper also mentioned that the girls had mixed emotions throughout the new changes to their season, but have mostly remained positive through the guidance and support of the athletic staff. Now, with a few weeks of adjustments under their belts, the Wildcats — especially the seniors — are shifting focus to enjoying the remainder of their season.
“I think it’s gone up and down,” Pyper said of the girls’ emotions. “The initial shock of everything is now over, and we’re starting to get into the real feelings of, ‘what does my senior year look like? What does our senior night look like?’
“But we try to remind them that we’ll get through this. Our whole school is having to deal with it. But they’ve recently come back with a renewed energy, and the environment here is just awesome. So while (the changes) have been challenging, we’re just trying to get better in any way that we can. We still have a goal that we have to put a product on the field.”
Konawaena will continue practicing at Waverider Stadium, but it remains unknown if all of the Wildcats’ remaining home games will be played there. But for now, Kona will host a game against Kohala on Friday at Waverider Stadium. Kickoff will be held at 6:30 p.m. It will be the only meeting between the two teams in 2026.
Kealakehe will face Waiakea at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Honoka‘a High. The game will be an opportunity for the Waveriders to avenge the Warriors, who fell 19-14 in their last meeting on Feb. 28.
